Yarn severing means for straight-bar knitting machines



Feb. 6, 1968 E. HAEHNEL 3,367,147

YARN SEVERING MEANS FOR STRAIGHT-BAR KNITTING MACHINES YANN SEVERIN@MEANS FOR STRAIGHT-EAR KNITTING MACHINES Feb. 6, 1968 H. E. HAEHNEL 5Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 8, 1965 Feb. 6, 1968 H. E. HAEHNEL. 3,367,147

YARN SEVERING MEANS FOR STRAIGHT-BAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed June 8,1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent iiice 3,367,147 Patented Feb.6, 1968 3,367,147 YARN SEVERING MEANS FOR STRAIGHT-BAR KNITTING MACHINESHerbert E. Haehnel, Reading, Pa., assigner to Textile Machine Works,Wyomissing, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed June 8, 1965, Ser.No. 462,194 8 Claims. (Cl. 66-145) ABSTRACT OF THE DSCLOSURE Severingmeans for straight-bar knitting machines for automatically severing yarnbetween a completed fabric blank and the machine fabricating elementsincluding a yarn deilecting member movable between an inactive positionbelow the draw-off path of said blank to an active position to engageand deflect the yarn toward a wire element, yarn engaging membersreceiving said yam from said deflecting member and pressing same intoengagement with said element upon return of said deecting member toinactive position and pattern control means for selective control ofsaid members and the heating of said element to sever the yarn.

This invention relates to straight bar or full-fashioned knittingmachines for knitting flat selvaged fabric blanks and more particularlyto means in such machines for automatically severing the yarns betweenthe completed fabric blanks and the fabricating means of the machines.

In machines for knitting full-fashioned fabric blanks such as forsweaters and the like, the different width blank portions making up acompleted sweater are knitted in succession with each completed blankportion ending at one width and the next blank portion starting at adifferent width. Following press-off of each blank portion, the carrierfeeding the yarn for the different blank portions is reset from itsposition at the end of the completed blank to its starting position forthe new blank. After the new blank is started, the yarn connecting thecompleted and new blanks is severed and the completed blank is thenremoved from the machine either manually or by automatically operatedmeans. Heretofore, the severing means provided included a wire elementwhich `was either manually or automatically moved from an inactiveposition to engage the yarn extending between the completed and newblanks and the wire element was then energized to sever the yarn afterwhich the wire element was again de-energized and moved to inactiveposition so as not to interfere with the new blank as it was formed.Where the severing means was manually operated, the cost of the severingmeans was relatively small but the manual manipulation required toeffect the severing operation was both time consuming and costly. On theother hand, where the severing means was automatic in operation, thecomplexity of the mechanism required to move the severing means betweenits inactive position and the different active positions necessary tosever the yarns between the different width blanks made the cost of theautomatic mechanism economically prohibitive in comparison to thebenefits obtained.

The principal object of the instant invention is to provide yarnsevering means for a straight or full-fashioned knitting machine whichwill overcome the above noted and other objections to prior yarnsevering means.

A further object of the invention is the provision of yarn severingmeans for straight bar knitting machines which is adapted to engage andsever the yarn extending between the different width blanks knit on themachine at a common point in relationship to the blank fabricating meansof the machine.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of yarnsevering means in straight bar knitting machines which severing meansincludes a heatable wire element mounted in a fixed location relative tothe blank fabricating means of the machine, a linger which is movablefrom an inactive position to engage and deflect yarns extending betweena completed blank and a new blank being knitted by the fabricating meansto the wire element, and means for holding the deflected yarn inengagement with the wire element for severance thereby when the fingeris returned to inactive position.

With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent fromthe following detailed description of the illustrative embodiment of theinvention shown in the accompanying drawings, the invention resides inthe novel elements, features of 4construction and cooperation of partsas hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. l is a plan view of a knitting section of a multisectionfull-fashioned knitting machine having yarn severing mechanism accordingto the invention applied thereto;

FIG. 2 is a view on an enlarged scale of the severing mechanism taken inthe direction of the arrows 2 2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but with certain of the parts shownin different positions relative to FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line and in thedirection of the arrows `4 4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional View taken transversely through the machineand showing the operating mechanism of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a view diagrammatically illustrating the pattern mechanism ofthe machine and the electrical circuit and control means for thesevering mechanism of the invention.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 5 thereis shown a portion of multisection fulfashioned knitting machine forknitting fabric blanks such as for sweaters and the like including acenter frame 1G, a front beam 11, a back beam 12, a -center bed 15 and afront bed or table 16. The beams and beds are secured to the centerframes and to end frames (not shown) to form the usual `framework of themachine. Each knitting section has a row of spring bearded needles 17which are carried in a needle bar 20, the needles cooperating withsinkers 21 slidably carried in a sinkerhead 22 secured to the center bed15, and knockover bits 2S. The needles 17, sinkers 21 and knockover bits25 are operated by lever means and cams (not shown) on a camshaft Z6 toform yarn fed thereto by yarn carriers, one of which is shown at 27,into loops of the fabric blanks such as diagrammatically shown at 30(FIG. 1). The carriers 27 are carried on carrier rods which arereciprocated back and forth across the row of needles 17 by means offriction boxes or like driving devices which are in turn reciprocated bycoulier mechanism (not shown) in a conventional manner. The fabricblanks as they are knit are tensioned by draw-olf mechanism, includingreels, one of which is diagrammatically shown at 33, mounted on a shaft34, the reels being suitably of the type shown and operated in themanner disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 387,009, filedAugust 16964, now Patent No. 3,269,150, issued August 30,

The blank portions making up the completed sweaters such as the fronts,backs and sleeves, which are of different widths, are knitted insuccession on the lmachine with each completed blank portion ending atone width and the next blank portion starting at a different width.After each blank portion is completed it is pressed or knit off theneedles 17 and the carrier 27, feeding the yarn for the different blankportions, is reset from its position at the end of the completed blankportion to its starting position for the next blank portion. After oneor more courses of the new blank yportion are knit the yarn extendingbetween the completed and new blank portions is severed and thecompleted blank is then removed from the machine. According to theinvention, the means for severing the yarn extending between thecompleted and new blank portions knit in each knitting section of themachine includes a wire element 31 which is positioned below the top ofthe front bed 16 at a position between the front bed and needles 17 andintermediate the ends of the knitting section. The opposite ends of thewire element 31 are secured in members 32 and 35 which are in turn fixedin brass members 36 by screws 37 (FIGS. 1 and 2). The members 36 areheld in slots in a block 40 of Bakelite or similar insulating materialby a plate 41 which is held in clamping engagement with the members 36by a screw 42 threadably carried in the block 40. The block 40 issecured by screws 45 to a bracket 46 which is secured in fixed positionby bolts 47 to the underside of the front bed 16 (FIG. 5).

The yarn is adapted to be moved into engagement with the wire element 31by members 56 and 51 which are positioned at opposite sides of the wireelement as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 4. One end of the member 50 is securedin a lever 52 pivotally mounted on a pin 5S or the like carried in thebracket 46 (FIGS. 2 and 3). At its other end the mem-ber 50 is providedwith an upwardly extending return bend portion S6 for purposeshereinafter set forth. One end of the member 51 is fixed in a lever 57pivotally mounted on a stud or pin 60 carried in the bracket 46 and theother endfof the member 51 extends upwardly and then downwardly to forma hook-like portion 61. The lever 57 also carries a wire nger or sweep62 having an upturned end 65. The member 51 and sweep 62 extend towardthe right from the lever 57 and the lever is normally positioned byengagement of the sweep with a stop member 66 on the bracket 46 so thatthe member 51 is below wire element 31 and the upturned end 65 of thesweep is below the top of the front bed 16 as shown in FIG. 2. The lever57 has a pin 67 extending from one side thereof for engagement in a slot70 formed in the lever 52, the pin and slot providing a connection bymeans yof which the lever 57 is rotated with the lever 52 when thelatter is operated las hereinafter set forth.

The levers 52 and 57 are rotated counterclockwise to move the member 50and member 51 and sweep 62 from the position of FIG. 2 to the positionof FIG. 3 at which time the sweep engages the yarn extending between acompleted blank and a new blank, indicated at 69 in FIGS. l and 4, anddeects or cams it downwardly into engagement with the member S betweenthe sweep and member S1 as shown in FIG. 3. It will be noted that duringmovement of the members S0 and 51 and sweep 62 from the position of FIG.2 to the position of FIG. 3 the portion 56 of member 50 and portion 61of member 51 move from a position in which they extend away from eachother as in FIG. 2 to a position in which they extend toward each otheras in FIG. 3 so that yarn also lies between and below the free ends ofthe bend portions -of the members 50 and 51. Following movement of themembers and sweep to the position of FIG. 3 to deflect the yarn betweenthe members as above set forth they are again returned to their positionof FIG. 2 at which time the yarn is caught between the oppositelydirected bend portion 56 and the member 50 and portion 61 of member S1at opposite sides of the wire element 31 to hold the yarn in engagementtherewith as shown in FIG. 4.

For moving the levers 52 and 57 between the positions of FIGS. 2 and 3,lever 52 is provided with a cam surface 71 adapted to be engaged by afollower end portion 72 of a lever 75 pivotally mounted on a stud 76carried in the bracket 46 (FIG. 2). The portion 72 is maintained inengagement with the cam surface on lever 52 by a spring 77 connectedbetween lever 52 and lever 75. One end of a link 30 is pivotallyconnected to the lever 75 and the other end of the link is connected toa pin 82 carried in and projecting from a lever S5 secured to a shaft 86mounted for rocking movement in the center frames 10 of the machine. Asecond lever 87 also secured to shaft 86 is connected by a link 90 to alever 91 pivoted on n pin or stud 92 fixed in a bracket 95 secured tothe back beam 12. Lever 91 has a roller type cam follower 96 forengagement with a cam 97 -on the camshaft 26. A spring 100 connectedbetween an arm 101 of lever 91 and a bracket 192 on the back beam 12tends to bias the lever and follower 96 toward the cam 97. The cam 97has a high portion 10S which acts through levers 87 and 85 to turnlevers 52 and 57 to their position of FIG. 2 and a low portion 106 whichacts to move levers 52 and 57 to the position of FIG. 3.

The lever 91 is normally held in its position as determined by the highportion of the cam 97 by an upper end portion 107 of a lever 110 whichyoverlies a projection 111 on the lever 91 adjacent the follower 96. Thelever is fixed on one end of a shaft 112 pivotally mounted in a bracket115 secured to the front beam 11. At its other end Shaft 112 carries alever 116 for engagement with a block 117 secured to a rod 120. Rod 120is one of the usual pattern rods of the machine and is operated by oneof a group of pattern levers 121 forming part of the pattern chaindevice of the machine indicated diagrammatically at 122 in FIG. 6. Thelever 110 is normally positioned by the rod so that the end portion 107of the lever overlies the projection 111 and prevents the lever 91 fromfollowing the low portion 106 of the cam 97. When the lever 91 is tofollow the low portion 106 of the cam 97, a button 125 on chain 126 ofthe chain device 122 operates the lever 121 to shift rod 120, to theleft as viewed in FIG. 6 to turn lever 110 to remove the portion 107from the path of the projection 111 on lever 91.

Following movement of the levers 52 and 57 between their positions ofFIGS. 2 and 3 to engage the yarn extending between the completed and newblanks with the wire element 31 in each knitting section of the machineas above set forth the wire elements are heated to sever the yarns. Inorder to energize and heat the wire elements they are connected in anelectrical circuit` preferably of 110 volts, comprising main conductors127 which are conected by leads to a timer device 131 asdiagrammatically shown in FIG. 6. The timer device 131 `.ay be of anycommercial type, such as the Agastat Timer manufactured by the ElasticStop Nut Corp. of Elizabeth, New Jersey, which acts to close the circuitand to hold it closed for predetermined time intervals. The timer device131 is connected by leads 132 to an adjustable transformer 135 by meansof which the voltage may be varied to increase or decrease thetemperature of the elements 31. The transformer 135 is connected byleads 136 to the wire elements 31 and the individual elements associatedwith each knitting section are connected to each other in series byleads 137, the leads 136 and 137 being connected to the wire elementsthrough the brass elements 36. The timer device is connected by a link140 to one of the pattern levers 121 which is moved to close the circuitthrough the timer to the Wire elements when one of the buttons 125 onthe chain 126 is moved beneath the lever.

It will be understood that the improvements specifically shown anddescribed, by which the above results are obtained, can be changed andmodified in various ways without departing from the invention hereindisclosed and hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. In a knitting machine having means for fabricating flat selvagedfabric blanks, and draw-off means for drawing off said fabric blanks asthey are knitted by said fabrieating means, in combination with meansfor severing yarn extending between a completed fabric blank and thefabricating means including a wire element mounted in fixed positionintermediate the ends of said fabricating means and :below the draw-offpath of said fabric blank, a pivoted finger, means for moving saidfinger from an inactive position below the draw-off path of Said fabricblank to engage and defiect the yarn between said completed blank andsaid fabricating means toward said Wire element, means for receivingsaid deflected yarn from said finger and for pressing said yarn intoengagement with said wir-e element when said finger is returned toinactive position, and means for energizin-g and heating said wireelement to sever said yarn engaging said wire element.

2. A machine according to claim l in which said receiving means includesa first member positioned at one side of said wire element and a secondmember positioned at the other side of said wire element.

3. A machine according to claim 2 in which there is means operated bysaid moving means for said finger to move said receiving means from aninactive position to an active position to receive said yarn when saidfinger is moved to engage and deflect said yarn and to move saidreceiving means to press said yarn into engagement with said wireelement when said finger is returned to inactive position.

4. In a knitting machine having means for fabricating flat selvagedfabric blanks and draw-off means for drawing off said fabric blanks asthey are knitted by said fabricating means, in combination with meansfor severing yarn extending between a completed fabric blank and saidfabricating means including a wire element mounted in fixed positionbetween said fabricating means vand said draw-off means and below thedraw-off path of said fabric blank, a finger, means for pivotallymounting said finger, means for moving said mounting means to move saidfinger between an inactive position below said draw-off path of saidfabric blank to an active position to engage and defiect the yarnextending between said completed fabric blank and said fabricating meanstoward said wire element, means movable with said finger for receivingsaid yarn deflected by said finger and for pressing said yarn intoengagement with said wire element when said finger is returned toinactive position, and means for energizing and heating said Wireelement to sever said yarn when said yarn is in engagement with saidwire element.

5. In a knitting machine having means for fabricating fiat selvagedfabric blanks and draw-off means for drawin-g off said fabric -blanks asthey are knitted by said fabricating means, in combination with meansfor severing yarn extending between a completed fabric blank and saidfabricating means including a wire element mounted in fixed positionbetween said fabricating means and said draw-off means and below thedraw-off` path of said fabric blank, a finger, means for pivotallymounting said finger, means for moving said mounting means to move saidfinger between an inactive position below said draw-off path of saidfabric blank to an active position to engage and defiect the yarnextending between said completed fabric blank and said fabricating meanstoward said wire element, means for receiving said yarn defiected bysaid finger and for pressing said yarn into engagement with said wireelement, and means for energizing and heating said wire element to seversaid yarn when said yarn is in engagement with said wire element, saidreceiving means including a first member mounted for pivotal movement atone side of said wire element, and a second member carried in saidpivotal mounting for said finger at the other side of said wire element,said first and second members being movable from inactive positions toactive positions to receive said yarn by said moving means for saidfinger during movement of said finger to active position to deflect saidyarn toward said wire element, and being moved to press said yarn intoengagement with said wire element when said fin-ger is returned toinactive position by said moving means.

6. A machine according to claim 5 in which said moving means for saidmounting means for said finger includes said first member, meansconnecting said first member and said mounting means, and means foroperating said first member.

'7. A machine according to claim 6 in which said operating means forsaid first member includes lpattern means.

8. A machine according to claim 7 in which said energizing meansincludes timer means for energizing and heating said wire element for:predetermined timed intervals to sever said yarn and said timer meansis controlled by said pattern means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,602,313 7/1952 Reading 66-1452,844,016 7/1958 Cobert 66-145 XR 2,863,310 12/1958 Miller 66-1452,934,922 5/1960 Reading 66-145 3,120,747 2/1964 Reading 66-145 FOREIGNPATENTS 975,548 11/1964 Great Britain. 1,148,690 5/1963 Germany.

ROBERT R. MACKEY, Primary Examiner.'

